R is for Really Rubenstein!

Ooop . . . just let me get up on my high horse . . . that's better, now, where was I? Oh yeah! Rubenstein. There isn't much on Rubenstein within the hobby and most of what you will find seems to be conjecture dressed-up as fact! So I thought I'd add my tuppenceworth to the mix and probably ruffle a few feathers!

 

Rubenstein were a US jobber, one of a dozen or so companies/entities started by Irving Rubenstein, sometimes with his Brother Ralph, or possibly a wife, 'L' (?), always in or around North Hollywood, California. Rubenstein International were incorporated in 1977 (too late for some of the premiums they are credited with?), but are no longer active, although several of the companies (mostly involved in B2B sourcing, services, or marketing) are still extant, along with a family foundation.

 

On the left are the Euro-premium pirates (eight sculpts in the UK [Kellogg's] and 20 poses elsewhere, under several brands), on the right my fledgling Rubinstein collection about two years ago, I went on to add about three or four more sets, but they all went to storage about 12-months ago! Some described - by Rubenstein - as 'Made in Mexico', other's (most), 'Made in England' (not 'Britain', not 'The UK'). I have so far found one set credited to having been 'Made in the USA'.

The Robin Hood figures are the same version described elsewhere in the hobby (marked with small 'Canada' monikers), and seen elsewhere on the Blog against the New Zealand-made versions. As one of the 'made in England' sets, this would suggest someone larger than Tatra (for instance) as they must have been big enough to have a Canadian office/subsidiary?

The athletes are after the 'Euro' versions (with Olympic flame carrier), not the Kellogg's or Marx sculpts, and while both figure sets are soft polyethylene, the dune-buggys [sic] are hard polystyrene, like the R&L mini-kits, from Australia, but not marked-up to them.

Other figure sets include the ex-Raja Conjunto do Espaço 'space set' (which explains a question-mark from the very start of the Blog; my shiny yellow one is Rubenstein!), ex-Commonwealth Plastics dolls and possibly the dog breeds, but this is where I need to point out that so far, and I have been looking hard for over three years, there is NO empirical or circumstantial evidence for the Soldiers/Warriors of the World/All nations having ever been in Rubenstein packaging?

 

And if the dogs were issued by Rubenstein (and I suspect so), they were the multicoloured ones (from Mexico; not England), NOT the silver or gold ones issued with Nabisco breakfast cereals in the USA, for which the evidence is as sketchy as for the military set.

 

Indeed, let's get this out of the way, Rubenstein International were an 'Import & Export' outfit, according to their licences, and it's very unlikely they ever "made" a single toy! So whoever was supplying Rubenstein, would also have supplied the cereal or ice-cream guys &etc., and earlier, I think. Also - we know Tatra (for instance) were responsible for the warriors/soldiers . . . in silver and gold!

The R&L styled mini-kits, I now have three of these for us to look at in greater detail another day, indeed I think most of these are the shots of the auctions/BIN's I won, I wouldn't use so many evilBay images in one article if I didn't think I had a tad of moral ground under my tippy-toes! Not sure if I ever succeeded in getting the Cars, but I know I bought two sets of motorcycles, so I can make one set up, for a Blog post!

I actually managed to get the Antique Cars photographed, though! But I think I might also have got the set of Wagons, although I might be confusing it with the Historical Vehicles which I know I got but also didn't photograph? Interestingly, while the Dune Buggys are polystyrene, these are polyethylene, and the Penny Farthing in the Historic's set is probably the one Brian Berke sent to the Blog, as an addendum to that premium kit post!

So far the only set sourced in the 'States which I've found, which is not to say there aren't more, but the same eleven sets keep turning-up, with a possible run of the dogs in multicolours, making a dozen.

 

These are also nothing like the others, and we saw a pale-blue Hong Kong example of one of these in Chris Smith's last donation, so, a common gum-ball machine prize, or those rack-toy cards with a bunch of teeny header-bags for a dime or sixpence?

 

All of which gives us;

• Action Athletes - Mexico, after Manurba/Linde et al.
• Antique Cars - England, after R&L?
  
• Comic Animals - USA
• Comic Moon Figures - Mexico, ex-Raja premiums
• Comic Pirates - Mexico, ex-European tool
  
• Dogs - Mexico, ex-Nabisco premiums
• Dolls of the world - Mexico, ex-Commonwealth 
• Dune Buggys - England, after R&L?
• Historical Transportation - England, after R&L?
• Horse-Drawn Coaches - England, after R&L or Pyro/Kleeware?
• Robin Hood Figures - England, previously/also Canada, after Marx
• Soldiers of World War II - Hong Kong, contents unknown, Airfix clones?
  
• Super Motorcycles - England, after R&L?

Sourced from England x6, Mexico x5, Hong Kong and the USA x1 each, for a twelve-count, which make-up grosses, which is how this rack-toy stuff is ordered/wholesaled thirteen-count; a bakers dozen!

The reason I've question-marked the possible R&L connection, is because R&L is another one where there may be falsehoods hiding as fact. When they turn-up in British or European products as premiums, they usually have A) very fine parts, B) 'R&L' somewhere on the runner, these four/five sets (the Dune Buggys may be from another source) are simpler and unmarked, while there is the various Italian sets of similar kits and the De Gruyter connections to consider.

Still no soldiers/warriors, though! Four days later - Still no soldiers/warriors!

Thanks to the Jabbering Fuck and Kent Sprecer for their contributions, not!

S is for Show Report - London, July 2022

Can you believe it's nearly the end of September? I took these at the end of June; seems like yesterday, and the next one is already on the horizon!  I picked-up an eclectic mix of bits at the show, although I notice we've already looked at one!

Starting at the top, since all the good works of Plastic Warrior magazine in bringing the background of BR Moulds to a wider audience, it's fair to say we're all looking around for the various items on the list, and here's one; a Mountie!

He could do with a re-paint, but as one can never know if he was factory painted, small-scale commercial painted or home moulded/painted (his intended fate), it's better to leave him 'as found', I think!

Various purchases during the course of the day, on the left, two celluloid guards from Japan, a probably French ostrich in an unusual pose, one of the standers-by from the Gemodels humpty Dumpty nursery-rhyme vignette and six of the figures which I think come from Monaco, common in France, but I seem to recall they were poly-something, or something-poly from Monaco? Copies of Crescent and MPC with another iteration of 'that' kneeling cowboy pose!

On the right a handful of bits from Adrian Little of Mercator Trading, the lucky-bag Indian (top) is a fantastic range of marbled colours, three bubble-gum premiums and a lead pilot below him and some oddments on the bottom row.

We saw the Supreme contents of the big-bag a while ago here, while we're not talking about the card at the bottom, right-now; inhuman bunch'o bass'turds, we'll return to them when they return to the family of civilised countries, while the Spanish card holds a few Comansi space figures.

I watched someone else almost buy it several times over the course of the afternoon before putting it out of its "will'ee-won't'ee" misery and taking it home myself! Branded to the Battle of the Planets license, it contains the standard, painted-era OVNI ('UFO') space figures.

Speaking of Comansi, someone had a heap of them and I kept going back and getting a few more and a few more until I had a shed-load! Can't remember if it was Gareth or Steve, but they were reasonable on the day! Here we have most of the Italian Infantry from at least four batches, mid-life (thin, ridged-edge bases, factory paint), A German (top right, earlier with a flat base) and a Brit'.

There were a bunch of US troops too, but they will get their own post shortly. These are 'real' toy soldiers in that they are largish, daft poses, quite crude sculpting and wacky weapons in wacky colours, but that makes them more fun, not less!

Nice mix here, again, from around both halls I think, can't remember if the astronauts came from Adrian or somewhere else? But both have still got their nice green faces and their helmets so a very useful addition to that sample, I only need a good robot now, I think?

In the same image; a nice Merten Indian tied to a tree, a French Indian and similar C20th infantryman, prone, a HK copy of a Timpo bear, a French (?) circus horse and the Black Chine pirate from the Isle of Wight.

The Dragon is a tiny bendy about 4cm, all-in, probably from a gum-ball machine's prize capsule, while above him are four really nice figures; a Spanish Dancer and a Spanish bullfighter, who is not from the 'usual suspects' but a slightly smaller, hard 'styrene tourist trinket I've not seen before?

Next to him is a slush-cast Napoleon, also touristy, who has - as his honour-guard - the Babes In Toyland pose from Marx I was missing when we looked at them recently, so a nice box-ticker - dubbed Valiant or Hooligan! I'll call him Bob! I don't know if I have two now? Rather lost track of them!

These were definitely from Adrian, and I think he obtained them the same day I got my original set, about 15/20 years ago, so I know how cheap he let me have them for and thank him. It's a full set of the Raja ice-cream premiums from Regimento ("The Regiment"), but a cleaner sample of the red/blue than mine, which I specifically chose for the other colour figures.

With a couple more 'other' coloured ones which came in from Chris Smith a while back and another from a show, it means I now have a really nice sample of these. Below them is one of those dress-up/play hunting-horn Indian 'riders'.

On the left we have more premiums, Flintstones and some Gem 'popsters' . . . I can't stop buying them, as there's so many colours and I've had enough luck with drum sets, so aim to make up several whole bands!

To the right more French production, Brian explained about Harry's box the other day, and I managed to get my mitts in it before everything had been hoovered-up, among which were these - some of the other French stuff, mentioned above, came from the same source.

The named Indians are what they are, while the knight is a copy of someone else's figure I think, but the two Zouave types are early SEGOM and a really nice find, we looked at the small scale back at the beginning of the blog, and I knew of both larger versions and the metal production, but I had no idea these existed in plastic, obviously the one on the right is missing a standard or flag and pole.

H is for How They Come In - April I - Chris - The Rest!

We're working - vaguely - backwards from the 20th century with this post as we cover the historicals, ceremonials, Wild West, medievals and ancients from the donation Chris sent to the Blog back last April.

These were accompanied by a number of eMailed images from Chris's own collection and have been covered in full here now, being both Polish sourced Plasticom and Polish takes on Plasticom, with more Plasticom 'Soldabars' added to the post! WWII/Modern infantry and Wild West.

True Wild West here, and a really nice mix; we have one of those teeny-tiny cowboys (in Peru they had a very similar set of race-horses and jockeys), another pod-foot in metallic blue, as I said only the other day, you can't have too many of these as there are so many to find!

The semi flat in red soft plastic is also nice and more have been seen here in their own post somewhere. One each of the Waddington's copies will join their mates but the metallic-purple trio are very useful. I think I've singled them out before, in silver and possibly brown or gun-metal, copies of Elastolin plastics and probably a [French?] premium, but so far a brand has eluded me.

These are all worth a word, starting with the Beefeater, who may be a tourist memento bust, or part of a larger chess-set? I can report that both he and the 'swizzle-stick' from the other day just managed to fit in the tub all the Beefeaters are in now! Some shuffling was required!

The outside pair are recent (but discontinued) Spencer Smith Wellingtonians, inside them are a pair of Raja 'Regiment' TV-related Portuguese ice-cream premium cavalry, and in the less common colours, so a real treat, while the two versions of a stroppy corporal could be early Kinder?

I say that because they seem to be based on the set from Portugal which has been issued by several premium-givers over the years, but as larger figures with separate bases and slightly finer sculpting; these being smaller, slightly 'blobbier' and having integral bases. Both sets have been credited to Kinder, but the better ones may have been dragged in (as other things have been) erroneously by over-enthusiastic Kinder collectors!

Very interesting; an AWI copy of a Britains swoppet, but as a single moulding, the locating stud suggests Wilton or someone like that (Carousel, SSCO, Grandmother Stover's, there were a fair few), but he could plug into a touristy thing? He's lost the end of his musket, but as a first sample is very gratefully received!

A painted Hun (warrior with bow - simple), we looked at them back in March here, and I'll keep him painted (is it your work, or the standard, commercially available Toy Soldier Co. paint-job?) as he's the recent Chinese gold-plastic production-run underneath.

The other two are chalk and cheese; on the right is a bog-standard MPC 40mm knight in silver (Ed Burg just posted the fort carry-case here), but the chap on the left is a first for the Blog and the collection (I have a mounted figure or two who may go with him I think, somewhere), and could be a European premium.

He has something in common with the soft polyethylene premiums from Portugal, but they were Starlux copies, I don't think this is a Starlux pose and they were off-white he's silver! Equally he could be a crudely added addition to a toy fort, it's quite a rough moulding, or even a 'from hollow-cast' but they tend not to have such heavy bases; he's very interesting!

There will be one other post related to this lot, but in the meantime my gratitude to Chris Smith for sharing them with the rest of us.

R is for Regiment by Raja

Raja were (still are?) a Portuguese Ice Cream manufacturer who gave away various premiums during the 60's and 70's which were not the usual premiums doing the rounds with Kellogg's/Ola/Nabisco/Nestle etc...Instead they concentrated on native Portuguese TV output.

The best from a Toy Soldier fans point of view was 'Regimento' or; The Regiment, a weekly (?) serial set in a US Cavalry fort. The Raja set contains 16 named characters between 25mm (standing poses) and 30mm (kneeling poses).

Top row, L to R; Tenente (Lt.), Capita'o (Capt.), Sergento (Sgt.), Comandante, Cabo and Ted.

Middle row; Tony, Nick, Bill (bugle), Filha do Comandante (Commandants daughter, short pencil skirt - one for the dad's there!), Frank and Kirk.

Bottom row; Burt & Jack (over sized kneeling poses), the original comic ad./flyer, Rod and Tom.

Common colours are the red and metallic blue, the others are not so easy to get.

Raja also produced/issued (See note at end) this set of Sci-fi figurines from another Portuguese TV series, this was a cartoon (I don't know it's name - can any Iberian readers help there?), and seems to have some similarities with the Italo-French Captain Harlock/Albator cartoon made by Toei Animation. I'm not sure if all the figures in the last two rows are part of this set?

In Peru I believe it was known as Galaxica Crononauta.

The yellow figure of the female astronaut is unmarked, slightly larger and of a harder plastic, so may be a copy, or just from another producer.

Other figurines bearing the Raja mark on their bases. Again I have no idea what they are called, or indeed what they refer to, however it seems they targeted girls as well as boys, as Montaplex did in Spain with their 'Sobres', something UK premiums rarely did.

Note: It's unlikely that Raja made these figurines themselves, food and plastic production are not happy bedfellows! Judging by the colours I'd put my money on Tito as the source, but that's not to be taken as read by any means, R&L (Rosenhain and Lipmann) in Australia also used this colour palette, as did several (Portuguese speaking) South American producers.